The Smartphones Of The Season

4 Jul, 2018

July is turning out to be one of the most interesting months for smartphone launches. We’re going to see a lot of action across price segments says Karan Bajaj, as he does a round-up of the most interesting ones.
In Pic: Oppo Find X (L) and Xiaomi Mi 8 (R).

Oppo Find X

4 Jul, 2018

The Find X was launched just a few weeks ago and India is expected to be amongst the first lot of countries to get it. The Find X has a beautiful glass body with a motorized camera module. The front has a 6.4-inch curved Amoled display (without a notch) giving it a screento-body ratio of 93%. Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB RAM, 128/256GB storage and a 3,730mAh battery. The motorized camera module hides a 16MP + 20MP dual rear camera and a 25MP front camera. It also has a 3D face scanning face ID feature (with infrared emitters, similar to the iPhone X) and VOOC fast charge support. Other features include dual SIM slots, USB Type-C port and Android 8.1.
Expected Price: Rs 60,000 onwards
(Image: oppo.com)

Asus Zenfone 5Z

4 Jul, 2018

The Zenfone 5Z will be the second smartphone to be available in India with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. It has a 6.2-inch IPS display in 19:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 2246 x 1080 pixels. The phone is expected to be launched with 6/8GB RAM and 64/128/256GB storage options. In the camera department, it has a 12MP + 8MP dual camera setup with OIS on the rear and a 8MP front camera. Other features include 3,300mAh battery with fast charge support, Hybrid dual SIM slot, expandable storage, rear fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port, and Android 8.0 with Face unlock. Asus seems poised to take on OnePlus and we therefore expect them to undercut OnePlus prices by a significant margin, making it one of the cheapest Snapdragon 845 phones around.
Price: Rs 29,999 onwards
(Image: asus.com)

Vivo NEX

4 Jul, 2018

NEX is the other unique phone expected to arrive in India this month. Doing away with the screen notch, the phone has an 8MP selfie camera module that pops out on top. It has a 6.59-inch amoled display giving it a screen to body ratio of 91%. The phone comes in two variants: NEX A and NEX S — we expect Vivo to only launch the topend NEX S in India because they’re gunning for the premium market. The NEX S runs a Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB RAM, 128/256GB storage and has a 4,000mAh battery with fast charge support. It also has a under screen fingerprint scanner, 12MP + 5MP dual rear camera with OIS, dual SIM slot, USB Type-C port and Android 8.1.
Expected Price: Rs 50,000 onwards

Xiaomi Mi 8

4 Jul, 2018

Xiaomi’s previous premium device in India was the Mi Mix 2, launched last year. The company has announced the Mi 8 in China as their new flagship and it is expected that the phone will launch in India this month. The Mi 8 features a notched 6.2-inch amoled display in 19:9 aspect ratio and a 7000 series aluminium frame. It comes with an 3D Face unlock similar to the iPhone X (with infrared), rear fingerprint scanner, dual SIM support and runs the latest MiUI 10 based on Android 8.1. Hardware includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB RAM, 64/128//256GB storage and a 3,400mAh battery with Quick Charge 4.0 support. It has a 12MP + 12MP dual camera setup with OIS and dual pixel phase detection autofocus on the rear while the front has a 20MP selfie shooter. The Mi 8 is also the first phone in the world with dual-band GPS (purported improved accuracy of 3 to 5 times).
Expected Price: Rs 35,000 onwards

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"We are excited to have OPPO adopt Gorilla Glass 6," John Bayne, Vice President and General Manager, Corning Gorilla Glass, said in a statement.

Unveiled in July, Gorilla Glass 6 is the company's most durable cover glass to date.

"OPPO's new flagship model will provide consumers, who depend on their smartphone for every interaction in their digital lives, increased protection against multiple drops," Bayne added.

Oppo Find X, GoSho, Detu Max: 5 Innovations We’re Excited About

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Big Tech Bets

22 Jun, 2018

While we see many new launches at trade shows like CES and IFA, it’s the crowdfunding platforms and tech breakthroughs that actually keep innovation alive through the year.
Here's a round up some of the unique products we’re betting on.
(Text: Karan Bajaj)

Vivo NEX

22 Jun, 2018

NEX is Vivo’s latest all-screen smartphone design.
They’ve announced two in the range already: NEX A and NEX S. NEX A has a Snapdragon 710 processor with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage while the NEX S has a Snapdragon 845, 8GB RAM and 128/256GB storage.
The other big difference is the fingerprint scanner: NEX A has a conventional one on the rear while NEX S has one under the display.
Both have a 6.59-inch super amoled displays with a screen to body ratio of 91.2% and 4,000mAh battery.
Since the front is dominated by the screen, Vivo has placed the 8MP front camera in a unique (motorised) pop-up mechanism.
On the back is a 12MP + 5MP dual camera setup with 4-axis optical image stabilisation.
(Image: www.vivo.com)

Oppo Find X

22 Jun, 2018

This amazing design from Oppo has an allscreen design — it has a 6.4-inch curved OLED screen with a screen-to-body ratio of 92.2%. Look around the phone and you won’t see a camera module or any sensors anywhere.
So where are the cameras? Everything is hidden in a motorised pop-up system that comes up when you’re unlocking the phone (face unlock) or when you launch the camera app.
Up front is a 25MP camera with iPhone X-style 3D facial scanning systems (dot projector, flood illuminator etc) while the rear has a dual 16 + 20MP camera setup.
Specifications include a Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage and a 3,770mAh battery.
(Image: www.oppo.com)

Detu Max

22 Jun, 2018

This is the world’s first, professional-grade, 360-degree, 3D, 8K, VR camera. It records true 3D video and captures still photos at 12k resolution. It’s also capable of automatically stitching images together for a 360 degree photo.
In terms of features, you get six-axis image stabilisation, HDR image/video capture, RAW format support, dual SD card slots for storage, HDMI output, Ethernet and WiFi.
The built-in artificial intelligence (AI) chip does object detection to ensure that your subject is always in focus. It also supports 3D VR live streaming on Facebook and YouTube.
The 4,800mAh battery inside gives you up to 60 minutes of continuous shooting. A companion app lets you preview and control the camera.
(Image: www.en.detu.com)

TicPods Free

22 Jun, 2018

TicPods Free are a new generation of wireless earbuds. To start, TicPods feature automatic in-ear detection — music pauses when you remove them and it resumes when you put them back. Next, it has intuitive touch controls for various actions.
With the TicPods, you don’t need to take out your smartphone — you can hear who’s calling and accept/reject the call, control music playback as well as activate your voice assistant. There is active noise cancellation plus noise isolation too. They’re IPX5 water resistant and come blue, orange or white.
Like most wireless earbuds, it comes with a charging carry case and total battery life is about 18 hours. These are also the only wireless earbuds that give you the option to buy a single earbud if you lose one of them.
(Image: www.indiegogo.com)

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Gorilla Glass has been designed into more than six billion devices by more than 45 major brands.